Dear Nordstrom,
I have a wedding to go to at the end of June. I have been looking at dresses online for the last three weeks. Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, EDressMe, Lord and Taylor, Macy's, ShopBop, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Anthropologie... Well pretty much anywhere that sells dresses.
I searched and searched and had no luck finding "the" dress I thought would be perfect for this wedding until these two dresses below caught my eye on your website. My criteria were quite specific. No white, because that is the color the bride wears. No red, because its an Indian fusion wedding and South Asian brides wear red. No black, because there are still a good amount of guests who object to black and think it is inappropriate. It should be fitted without being hoochie. Not cheap looking. No one shoulder styles--my husband doesn't really like those for some reason and he's a groomsman in the wedding so I'd like him to like my dress. To top it all off, I just wanted a simple sheath cut. Something classy and more fitting of a 30 year old, a bit more mature. I looked online for weeks with nothing standing out to me. There were some I liked, but nothing I loved.
After seeing these two dresses below, I knew I had something I was interested in and they fit all my criteria! Oh joy! And both were available in my size in several online stores. Oh happy day! But then I saw the price tags and had almost given up. I continued looking but could not find anything anywhere that came close (in my mind) to being as perfect for this occasion as these two were! They were so fitting of my body type as well as my personality. So I continued to go back to looking at these two.
I resolved myself to the price tags (around $400 for each!). And after that initial stab of pain from having to spend that much, today I finally had to get a second opinion from a good friend of mine. She responded with a resounding "YES!" to my getting either of them.
Alas, it was not meant to be. As she was confirming what I thought I had known for a few days, I popped online to Nordstrom's and found out the pink ML Monique Lhuillier dress was sold out in my size and even more, another shopper inquired into obtaining another dress in her size (which was my size as well) and they responded that they were sold out in that size in both their online store as well as their department stores everywhere! How could this be? I thought. No sweat. I would go with my other choice. Sadly, the purple Nicole Miller dress was on back order in my size until September. September??!!! Okay now I was worried. I spent weeks agonizing over this decision, finding the perfect dress and then resolving myself to the price, and finally making a commitment. Isn't that the perfect customer relationship? Someone who is so sure with their choice? Someone who is not fickle and will buy and return the dress at the drop of the hat and return it just as quickly?
I would think that stores would consider ordering more in certain sizes that sell out and less in sizes that don't sell at all. My size is always sold out so quickly. It would make complete and utter fiscal sense to stock dresses this way. Especially because they would sell more dresses overall. Oh well.
Back to my impending heart attack. After discovering disappointment in Nordstom, I looked at Saks Fifth Avenue, which had the ML Monique Lhuillier dress in my size only yesterday, but today was sold out in my size. I did the same with the Nicole Miller. No luck! Sold out in my size as well. Neither were available at Neiman Marcus (the ML sold out a long time before). I finally checked Bloomingdale's. They had the ML Monique Lhuillier but not in my size. Cue the heart breaking slowly into little pieces. They also had the Nicole Miller but only in white. Beads of sweat started developing on my brow and were running down my back. I was in panic mode. I checked Nicole Miller's website online. The purple dress was available but only in one size,which was not my own. Full panic mode had taken place. I looked back at Nordstrom to see if I could pick up the Nicole Miller in the store. Get this! There were no dresses available in any of their stores within 100 miles of where I lived. REALLY? They had each dress in my size available at more than one store yesterday and all of a sudden they are all bought out today? Is there some special Wednesday buying technique that I was not aware of?
Desperation turned into disappointment. Joylessness consumed me. What an awful ordeal to come so far and fall short. And then I got irrationally angry at you, Nordstrom, for starting to get my hopes up. I felt like shouting "Eff You Nordstrom!" I know it won't make the dresses appear again in my size, but boy did that feel good just now.
Thankfully, my friend figuratively talked me back from the ledge and gave some sound advice. These dresses just were not my dress and I should stop looking immediately and start fresh another day. There are always more dresses out there. And that made me feel better.
But you know what, that last sentiment toward you, Nordstrom, felt oh-so-good! So I'll leave you with that. Because I'm still quite miffed after all my tireless hours in my quest.
Your former faithful shopper,
-S
P.S. I'll probably be back soon because I can never stay mad at you, but for now, take my last sentiment to the bank! And tell your buddies Saks, Neimans and Bloomies that's from me too!
I have a wedding to go to at the end of June. I have been looking at dresses online for the last three weeks. Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, EDressMe, Lord and Taylor, Macy's, ShopBop, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Anthropologie... Well pretty much anywhere that sells dresses.
I searched and searched and had no luck finding "the" dress I thought would be perfect for this wedding until these two dresses below caught my eye on your website. My criteria were quite specific. No white, because that is the color the bride wears. No red, because its an Indian fusion wedding and South Asian brides wear red. No black, because there are still a good amount of guests who object to black and think it is inappropriate. It should be fitted without being hoochie. Not cheap looking. No one shoulder styles--my husband doesn't really like those for some reason and he's a groomsman in the wedding so I'd like him to like my dress. To top it all off, I just wanted a simple sheath cut. Something classy and more fitting of a 30 year old, a bit more mature. I looked online for weeks with nothing standing out to me. There were some I liked, but nothing I loved.
After seeing these two dresses below, I knew I had something I was interested in and they fit all my criteria! Oh joy! And both were available in my size in several online stores. Oh happy day! But then I saw the price tags and had almost given up. I continued looking but could not find anything anywhere that came close (in my mind) to being as perfect for this occasion as these two were! They were so fitting of my body type as well as my personality. So I continued to go back to looking at these two.
I resolved myself to the price tags (around $400 for each!). And after that initial stab of pain from having to spend that much, today I finally had to get a second opinion from a good friend of mine. She responded with a resounding "YES!" to my getting either of them.
Alas, it was not meant to be. As she was confirming what I thought I had known for a few days, I popped online to Nordstrom's and found out the pink ML Monique Lhuillier dress was sold out in my size and even more, another shopper inquired into obtaining another dress in her size (which was my size as well) and they responded that they were sold out in that size in both their online store as well as their department stores everywhere! How could this be? I thought. No sweat. I would go with my other choice. Sadly, the purple Nicole Miller dress was on back order in my size until September. September??!!! Okay now I was worried. I spent weeks agonizing over this decision, finding the perfect dress and then resolving myself to the price, and finally making a commitment. Isn't that the perfect customer relationship? Someone who is so sure with their choice? Someone who is not fickle and will buy and return the dress at the drop of the hat and return it just as quickly?
I would think that stores would consider ordering more in certain sizes that sell out and less in sizes that don't sell at all. My size is always sold out so quickly. It would make complete and utter fiscal sense to stock dresses this way. Especially because they would sell more dresses overall. Oh well.
Back to my impending heart attack. After discovering disappointment in Nordstom, I looked at Saks Fifth Avenue, which had the ML Monique Lhuillier dress in my size only yesterday, but today was sold out in my size. I did the same with the Nicole Miller. No luck! Sold out in my size as well. Neither were available at Neiman Marcus (the ML sold out a long time before). I finally checked Bloomingdale's. They had the ML Monique Lhuillier but not in my size. Cue the heart breaking slowly into little pieces. They also had the Nicole Miller but only in white. Beads of sweat started developing on my brow and were running down my back. I was in panic mode. I checked Nicole Miller's website online. The purple dress was available but only in one size,which was not my own. Full panic mode had taken place. I looked back at Nordstrom to see if I could pick up the Nicole Miller in the store. Get this! There were no dresses available in any of their stores within 100 miles of where I lived. REALLY? They had each dress in my size available at more than one store yesterday and all of a sudden they are all bought out today? Is there some special Wednesday buying technique that I was not aware of?
Desperation turned into disappointment. Joylessness consumed me. What an awful ordeal to come so far and fall short. And then I got irrationally angry at you, Nordstrom, for starting to get my hopes up. I felt like shouting "Eff You Nordstrom!" I know it won't make the dresses appear again in my size, but boy did that feel good just now.
Thankfully, my friend figuratively talked me back from the ledge and gave some sound advice. These dresses just were not my dress and I should stop looking immediately and start fresh another day. There are always more dresses out there. And that made me feel better.
But you know what, that last sentiment toward you, Nordstrom, felt oh-so-good! So I'll leave you with that. Because I'm still quite miffed after all my tireless hours in my quest.
Your former faithful shopper,
-S
P.S. I'll probably be back soon because I can never stay mad at you, but for now, take my last sentiment to the bank! And tell your buddies Saks, Neimans and Bloomies that's from me too!
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